Elizabeth Hoby

Elizabeth Russell, Lady Russell (née Cooke; formerly Hoby; 1540–1609) was an English poet and noblewoman. She was an influential member of Queen Elizabeth I's court and was known in her time for her refined poetry as well as her musical talent. In 1596, she was a vocal opponent of the reconstruction of Blackfriars Theatre in that London district.

Life She was born at Gidea Hall, Essex, the third daughter of Anthony Cooke, who was tutor to Edward VI. Cooke educated his four daughters to a high level for his day. Her sister, Anne Bacon, became a notable scholar. Elizabeth was proficient in Latin and French. Elizabeth's first marriage was on 27 June 1558, to Thomas Hoby, of Bisham Abbey, Berkshire, noted as the translator of Baldassare Castiglione's The Book of the Courtier into English. The legend claims her repentant ghost haunts Bisham Abbey. John Russell's death in 1584, before that of his father, robbed her of the possibility of becoming the countess of Bedford.

Through her connections at court, her brother-in-law William Cecil, Lord Burghley,

By all accounts, Russell also behaved in a similarly fractious manner toward perceived 'rival' property owners in Bedfordshire, who were sometimes kidnapped, hung by their heels, or subjected to document forgery. She seems to have been an ambitious woman, who was zealous in acquiring and protecting her own property, given that she was the first known female keeper of her own castle in England, at Donnington in Berkshire.

Later in life, she became litigious and pursued grievances in law, not always successfully. Elizabeth died at her house at Bisham, Berkshire, and is buried in the 'Hoby Chapel' at All Saints Church, Bisham, where a magnificent monument was erected to her.